


Eyes Like Mine

by Laambs



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-08 17:03:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7766038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laambs/pseuds/Laambs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zabuza is hired as a bodyguard to a wealthy senator's son, Haku. At first he thinks the job will be a piece of cake, but soon discovers that scandals and secrets bubbling under the surface make it much more complex that he had counted on, not to mention the romance that seems to be blooming between the two of them. Zabu/Haku, Saso/Dei, Kisa/Ita, Naru/Sasu. Explicit rating for future chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I published a few years ago on another site and never finished, mostly because I didn't like the direction I had gone with the story and got discouraged with it. I am re-posting it here with a lot of tweaks and adjustments to both the writing style and the details in the plot. It is very, very long (there are 26 chapters on the other site, some of which I hate) and I will be deleting it (and my other fics) from the other site as I get more chapters and other stories posted here. This is my first time posting anything on this site, so I'm pretty nervous for if I used the tagging system and everything right, but here goes.  
> Just a quick note, Haku's last name is never mentioned in the show or manga so for the purposes of this fic, his family name (and Deidara's, for the same reason) will be Hoshigaki, which is Kisame's last name.

The large man shifted, slightly uncomfortable in the pristine and ornate room the proper-sounding butler had suggested he wait in. The furniture was all blindingly white and spotlessly clean, not a speck of dust blemishing the marble or glass. He glanced down at his aged boots, and was sure the dirt he hadn't managed to stomp out of the grooves and ridges of the soles would eventually make an appearance on the pretty tiled floor. He frowned, telling himself that's what the maids got paid for. He was sure they got paid quite a lot, glancing around at the huge room. He had lived in houses smaller than just this parlor.  
  
His boss had sent him here to this address, informing him that an extremely loyal client needed a personal bodyguard for one of his sons. The job would require live-in services, and was neither permanent not temporary. _For the foreseeable future_ , Zabuza recalled his boss's word.  He remembered scoffing at the man, Gatou, before he had spoken again. "This job is not as easy as it sounds, Momochi." He had promised. "The Hoshigaki family is heavily involved in politics, scandals, and dark secrets." He chuckled a moment before adding, "Lots of reasons for one of their brats to get slaughtered."  
  
"Brats?" Zabuza repeated, emphasizing the last letter. He didn't like kids, and in his limited experience interacting with them, from what he could tell they didn't like him much either.  
  
"Yeah, plural. Let's see ... " He trailed off, opening a thick, leather-bound case which Zabuza assumed to be filled with dossiers and information on the family. Holding a sheet of paper between his fat fingers, skimming down it quickly, he spoke again. "One adult son, and two teenage sons. Their father is Senator Hoshigaki," He tacked on, tucking a paper back into the case and shoving it toward Zabuza, who took it, glaring at his employer. _Senator Hoshigaki_ ... As if the name meant a thing to him. He had heard it in passing, certainly, but he wasn't one who paid much mind to politics.  
  
"Just how many of these sons am I supposed to be guarding?"  
  
"Just one, his youngest." Gatou didn't miss a beat. He adjusted his grossly undersized glasses before lowering them to peer at the tall, well-built man. "Think you can handle it?" He asked mockingly, knowing full well Zabuza wouldn't refuse.  They had worked together for many years, and he felt he knew the man as well as just about anyone. There were a lot of things you could say about Zabuza Momochi, but lack of work ethic wasn't one of them. If it hadn't been for Zabuza, he wouldn't have been one of the most rich, powerful, and influential men in the city.  
  
"What, playing monkey-boy to some snotty kid?" He growled at the suggestion. "I think I've handled a lot more difficult before."  
  
"Which is precisely why I told Jaken Hoshigaki that you would be happy to take the job. You are by far the most qualified of any of my employees to take this on."  
  
"Is it really necessary to have the most qualified of your employees taking on such a meager mission?"  
  
"I already told you, Momochi. This mission is not to be taken lightly. The Senator wants someone he can trust. You'll be living with them for the duration of the job." He paused, then went on. "And the Hoshigaki family, as you may have guessed, are quite wealthy. Both you and I will be getting paid substantially for this job."  
  
"Right," Zabuza said quietly. "By trustworthy, I somehow doubt he meant the second-in-command to the leader of the city's crime syndicate."  
  
Gatou chuckled, his squinty eyes dancing behind the tiny panels of glass. "You'd be surprised how involved Mr. Hoshigaki is with this city's crime syndicate."  
  
_A crooked politician ... What a surprise_. As far as Zabuza was concerned, all those slick-talking jerks in their expensive suits and fancy watches were crooked, but at least this meant the client knew the score. He wasn't some clueless idiot, sheltered in his cushy mansion and office chair.  
  
"Senator Hoshigaki has requested a meeting with you this afternoon. You'll find the address of their manor in the contents of that case. Don't fuck this up, Momochi." Though he didn't expect Zabuza to fail at any mission, the snarky parting words had become somewhat of a tradition.  
  
"Have I ever fucked anything up?" Zabuza replied automatically for the same reason, pushing open the door and closing it loudly without waiting for an answer. He stalked out of the building, rummaging through the various papers.  
  
So here he was in their enormous mansion, waiting for some rich old scumbag to introduce him to his snotty son whom he would be pretty much responsible for 24 hours of the day. _Great_. He couldn't think of a better way to spend his next few months.  
  
The thought had occurred to him (and nagged at him), of why the kid would need such extreme security. Sure, his dad was a politican, but he was only a senator. It wasn't like he was the president's son or anything. But he knew Gatou wasn't an idiot, and there had to be some good reason for the mission. He also knew he was too valuable within the company to be led into some kind of trap. _What did you do, kid? Who did you piss off?_ While he sat, he skimmed over the dossier on the kid he would be presumably guarding, as long as the meeting with the senator went well. Not a kid after all, he noted, as the birth date indicated the son was 18. _Haku Hoshigaki_ ...  
  
Before he could read any more, the sound of footsteps descending the stairs tore his attention away from the page. He stood, straightening the tie Gatou had suggested he wear for the meeting. He hated suits and ties, anything formal really, but maybe the wealthy politician would at least give him some points for what he hoped was a stylish ensemble. The man who came into view looked to be about his age, definitely not the son he was being assigned to or the father.  
  
"Hello," The man said good-naturedly, grinning. Zabuza noticed with slight interest that his teeth were oddly pointed. He was tall, even taller than Zabuza's own lumbering 6'1 frame.  
  
"Good afternoon."  
  
"Zabuza, is it?" He asked, and the bodyguard nodded. "Name's Kisame." Kisame could already tell the other man was of few words. He held out a hand for a firm handshake in lieu of small talk. "My dad knows you're here, and he just said he was ready for you, so just go on up and head on up to his office."  
  
"Which is ... ?" Zabuza glanced into the next room, which held two marble staircases, on opposite sides of the room, each with a matching cherry wood banister, but they seemed to head into different wings of the house.  
  
"Just go up the left one, first door on your right."  
  
"My thanks."  
  
"Good luck." Kisame called from the entrance room, before Zabuza heard the front door close. Zabuza exhaled, walking toward the lovely staircases. He stopped, muscles tensing when he heard quick and boisterous footsteps. Someone was barrelling down the stairs like a herd of elephants. He nearly rolled his eyes, relaxing after a moment, reminding himself he was no longer in the streets, where a gun or a knife could be aimed at him from every side. He waited a moment as a younger blonde burst down the stairs, using the banister to whip around the side as quickly as he could.  
  
He cried out as he ran directly into Zabuza's tough chest, knocking him backwards onto the hardwood floors, his eyes wide. Zabuza, however, didn't move, even at the boy's full weight slammed onto him at full speed. "Sorry, un." The boy said, raising himself up to a standing position slowly, looking a little sheepish. He tucked his hands into the dark jeans he wore, which fit him like a second skin, and had rips and tears up and down the legs. His eyes were lined with dark make-up, the shiny piercings on either side of his lower lip and between his nostrils winked in the light at Zabuza. His stance was confident, even a little arrogant.  
  
"It's alright. I'm Zabuza Momochi. I think I'm supposed to be your new bodyguard." The kid looked like a punk, but at least he had apologized bumping into him.  
  
He gave Zabuza a somewhat cocky grin before speaking. "Well, I'm Deidara Hoshigaki and I don't really do the whole bodyguard thing, un." Goddamn it, was the kid really going to fight him on this? Wait, Deidara? Wasn't the name supposed to be Haku ...  
  
"A-actually, you're supposed to be mine, I think." Both of them looked over quickly at the new voice. Zabuza was surprised someone had been able to approach them without him noticing. They must have been completely silent, creeping down the stairs that Deidara had stomped down, loudly.  
  
Zabuza's brows furrowed together slightly, eyeing the dark-haired teenager who stood before him, obviously anxious and uncomfortable. The soft voice and androgynous face and figure made the gender indeterminate, and he knew better in this day and age than to make any assumptions of that caliber. It could have been a female, or it could very well just be a feminine boy. "Are you Haku?" He avoided the word son purposely.  
  
Yes, I'm Haku." He answered shyly, lowering his cocoa-colored eyes. He was wearing a fitted black shirt that clung to his slender body and pair of shorts, the bottom hem of which came to about the middle of his thigh. As Zabuza's eyes trailed downward, bright white socks with black adornments around the edge covered the lower part of his legs, ending in black shoes. He didn't claim to be a fashion expert, far from it, but he knew enough to know that Haku obviously took care in his appearance and what he wore. His hair was styled simply, straight down his back, ending only inches above his waist, his thick bangs cut bluntly at level with his eyebrows. Zabuza thought the hairstyle to be a bit feminine, but he supposed it suited Haku.  
  
Only when Deidara cleared his throat, looking back and forth between the pair of them oddly, did Zabuza realize with embarrassment that he had been staring. "Dad's office is up the _other_ stairs, un." Deidara said, pointing helpfully. "It's, like. . . The first door on the right, un. It should be open, anyway." He said, bouncing off toward the entrance room. "I'm going out." He announced, before disappearing behind the door.  
  
"I'm, uh ... I'm Zabuza Momochi. I'm here to meet with your father." Why did he feel so embarrassed? He wasn't sure how much information Haku knew about the situation, so he avoided mentioning anything more on that.  
  
"Yes, I heard you introduce yourself to my brother."  
  
Right, of course he had. "Right." He turned quickly and headed up the stairs, feeling uneasy for reasons that he couldn't grasp. He couldn't help but notice out of his peripherals that Haku sat on one of the expensive-looking loveseats facing the staircase, a book in his hands that Zabuza hasn't noticed before. _Well, you weren't exactly looking at his hands, were you?_  
  
Zabuza found the door with as much ease as Kisame and Deidara had told him he would. It was the first door on the right, and it was the only one open.  
  
"Ah, Momochi." The man said, amicably enough. "Pleased to meet you." He was somewhat handsome, the gray at his temples giving him a gilded look.  
  
"Thank you." He said, taking the hand that was offered to him. He never knew what to say a these types of meetings, so he tended to his keep his mouth shut and answer only when necessary.  
  
"Gatou has informed you of the arrangement, right?"  
  
After working out necessary details, Zabuza exited the office, leaving the man named Jaken alone to continue with his work. As it turned out, the senator and his wife would be leaving on a trip to the capital. Jaken felt uneasy about leaving Haku alone for an extended period of time, especially considering the strange and threatening correspondence of letters and emails he had been receiving as of late. He explained that, as a senator and as someone associated with the mob, he often received messages from those who weren't thrilled either with his political standings or something else, but these were different. The messages he had been receiving had mentioned Haku more than a few times, even going so far as to comment on the boy's sexuality. Jaken had found them disturbing and creepy, to say the least, and the police had had no luck tracing them. "It's the worst possible time for us to take a trip, but it's necessary for my work. I can't back out of this and I know Haku won't come with us." At any rate, the police had advised that while the messages were creepy, there were no actual threats so there wasn't much they could do. "I may be overreacting, but I'd feel better if Haku had some security, at least while we're gone."  
  
"I'll make sure nothing happens to him." Zabuza assured the man. There probably really was nothing to worry about, just kids playing a dumb prank, but he could understand Jaken's unease. As important as Gatou had made this mission out to be, it seemed like it would be a total snooze fest after all.  
  
 It had been at least a half hour, so when he descended the stairs and found Haku still sitting on the couch, daydreaming, he was a little surprised. He cleared his throat, making the dark-haired boy jump, then relax when he saw what the sudden noise was. "Er. . . Your dad told me you'd show me to my room."  
  
"Oh ... Right. You'll be staying here." Haku's tone seemed neutral about this fact, though Zabuza wondered if that was entirely true.  
  
_In the room next to yours, kid_ , Zabuza thought, but kept the thought inside. The strange edginess he had felt that had disappeared while talking to the senator returned at the sound of Haku's voice.  
  
"I'll show you around," Haku said, standing. He glanced back toward the door in which Zabuza had entered the house for the first time. "In there is the entrance hall. In here is the living room, and the door out from there goes to the gardens and the pool." He turned toward the right staircase. "You'll be staying in a guest room. It's just next to mine, and Deidara and Kisa's rooms are in the right wing as well." He turned toward Zabuza again, gazing up at him. His eyes were large and doe-like, fringed in thick, long lashes. "Follow me." Haku began walking up the stairs. Zabuza followed casually, then his eyes widened in shock.  
  
At the upward angle at which they were walking, and the fact that Haku was little more than a few steps ahead of him, he was faced with long, coltish legs, inches away from his face. His eyes trailed from the top hem of the long socks up porcelain white thighs, which he noticed looked extremely smooth. The shorts that he had barely noticed before now seemed even shorter and far tighter as they were pulled upward with every step Haku took, accentuating his form. Zabuza stopped dead in his tracks, nearly choking on his own spit. _Get ahold of yourself, Momochi. It hasn't been that long since you got laid._ Had it? He couldn't even remember the last time he had felt attracted to someone, let alone actually have sex. He supposed that meant it really had been too long. No wonder he was reacting so pathetically to something as insignificant as some scrawny kid's legs.  
  
Haku turned when he reached the top of the stairs, and noticed the man was only about halfway up. "Are you alright?" He questioned softly, folding his hands behind him.  
  
"Yeah," He answered quickly, a little harshly. "Fine. I was just looking at ... This banister. It's cherry wood, right?" _Very smooth._  
  
"I think so?" Haku said, politely hiding a smile at the strange reaction. "Your room is this way." Zabuza followed him down the hall.  
  
"Uh, thanks. I'll just, uh ... Head over to my apartment and bring over some stuff, since I'll be here for awhile."  
  
"Are you sure you're okay? You look kind of-"  
  
"I'm fine!" Zabuza snapped, hoping Haku would drop the subject. _Shit, did he notice I was checking him out?_ No way, how could he know? Haku continued to eye him somewhat warily, but decided to let it go. "I'll just go now." Anything to get away from the pretty-faced boy so he could clear his head.  
  
"I'll go with you!" Haku invited himself, though he knew it to be rude and presumptuous.  
  
"No!" Zabuza denied the suggestion, so loudly and abruptly that Haku jumped a bit, startled. _Shit_. "I mean, uh ... You don't have to do that. I don't want to trouble you."  
  
"Oh, it won't be any trouble. I-I'd love to get out of the house," Haku admitted, though his chest fluttered at his own words. He couldn't believe he had invited himself to go along with this stranger. "Unless you don't want me to."  
Zabuza felt his stomach drop at the words, and at the pink tinge that began to creep across Haku's face. How was it possible that the kid could look even cuter like that? _Cuter? What the hell are you even thinking?_ What the fuck was wrong with him? "No, that's fine." Zabuza heard the words come from his mouth despite his mind internally flashing the word 'no' like a neon sign. His stomach still felt icy with trepidation as he descended the stairway, Haku following closely behind him. The scent of Haku's shampoo reached Zabuza's nose, somehow bringing his mind to memories of chilly autumn days, filled with bright, crunchy leaves. This was a very, very bad idea.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all the kind comments already, I really appreciate them! I think I'm starting to get the layout of this website a little better, but I still haven't figured out how to change my icon or whatever, haha. I try really hard to keep all my characters in character, so to speak, but I was a little conflicted about this chapter in general. Haku is maybe a little more giggly than what he seems in the anime/manga, but I decided to leave that stuff in and I justified it by thinking that Haku WAS a bit cheeky in the series, what with the whole telling Naruto he was a boy as he walked off. Anyway, I promise (I hope) my characterization will get better as it goes on, and with all the side characters and pairings as well.  
> Edit; I had to delete and re-post this chapter, as I had somehow fucked up the formatting and it was basically a giant wall of text with no paragraph breaks! Sorry for the inconvenience this caused anyone!

Zabuza leaned back against the car that was issued to him by Gatou's company, a fairly new black Lexus. It was luxurious and spacious, a far cry from the beat-up, old pickup truck he had driven when he met Gatou.  
  
Haku had apologetically exclaimed that he left his bag upstairs and needed to run back up and get it, politely asking Zabuza to wait for him, which Zabuza had agreed to do. He now wanted to forget the whole thing, jump into his car, and slam on the gas pedal so the Hoshigaki manor would shrink and shrink in his rear view mirror, becoming nothing but a dot and a memory. Of course he couldn't do that, not if he wanted to return to his job and the life he had gotten used to over the past few years.  
  
The worst part of it was, he had no idea what he so desperately wanted to run from. Some effeminate teenager with a soft voice and shy demeanor? He was a seasoned gangster and criminal, he had ended lives, transported drugs directly under the nose of the police, and now some snot-nosed, pixie-faced kid was sending chills up his spine? _What a joke you are._  
  
He growled at the mental voice that mocked him in his head. He hated that guy. Scrubbing his hands over his face and trying to use the time away from Haku to get a grip, he rolled his eyes up to the sky, pushing other ephemeral images of the strange boy from his mind firmly, insisting to himself that the only reason Haku kept popping up in his brain was because he had never met anyone like that before ... Which was true. He had a fleeting image of Haku's brown doe eyes, and thought that the boy _did_ remind him a bit of a doe. Enigmatic and skittish, yet somehow still so alluring and enticing. He supposed that's why deer had ubiquitously been elected as trophies to grace the walls of hunters everywhere.  
  
The man thought back on the conversation he had with Jaken Hoshigaki. A few subjects seemed to make the man a little terse, but he was obviously trusting Zabuza with a huge responsibility. He was sure Gatou had spent a long time convincing the man that his employees were to be trusted. Zabuza wasn't sure about all Gatou's employees, but he was certain that he, himself, had no sinister intent toward the family or the son.  
  
Being who he was and how he had grown up, Zabuza had formed his own moral and ethic code many years ago, which he mostly followed. Being someone who was very lenient with himself, guilt or inner turmoil wasn't something he often felt. He hated the feeling of indecisiveness, unsure of what action to take next or what he even really wanted. He felt like he was being pulled in two very distinct directions; One of which urged him to stay as far away from Haku as possible, and the other pleaded with him to find out more about Haku, find out his hobbies and interests and thoughts, anything to get to know him.  
  
Another thing that made him curious was that Haku didn't seem surprised by the fact that he now had a hired bodyguard, and Zabuza wasn't at all sure if the younger male viewed it as a positive or a negative situation. Was he a relief to Haku, or a burden? _Why do you give a shit?_ His mind nagged at him. _You're stuck with each other whether he likes it or not._ And since when had he ever wondered or felt insecure about a client being pleased with his services? _He's not even your client, Jaken is. He's nothing to you._  
  
Right. That was right. The kid was nothing to him. Nothing but an inconvenience to him, a job. All he had to was babysit Haku and cart him around and play monkey-boy to him. _Just keep him happy until your time's up, then you can get the hell out of here and never look back._ And never have to hear that soft, breathy voice slide into his ears again. Sure, the kid was intriguing at least, and admittedly he had felt a spark of _something_ upon meeting him, but all that was arbitrary. He would just bide his time until he was free of this uncomfortable prison.  
  
"I'm sorry to make you wait," Haku apologized again, breathing a tiny bit heavier from running up and down the stairs. He now had a monochrome printed bag at his side, the strap of which crossed his chest diagonally and rested on his opposite shoulder. It wasn't huge, but it definitely had something of substantial volume in it.  
  
"What's in the bag?" Before he could bite down on his tongue, the words slipped out of Zabuza's mouth. He resisted the urge to curse at himself.  
  
"Oh!" Haku glanced down at his bag, blushing slightly, as if he had only just remembered he had it. "It's, um, my camera." He lifted the top flap of the sturdy tote, revealing what looked to Zabuza like a very expensive camera, and a few accessories that accompanied it. "I try to take it with me wherever I go because ... Well, you never know, I guess," Haku finished slightly miserably, seeming embarrassed at his own words, as if he was used to being ridiculed for his habits, and even expected it. His blush didn't fade away as he waited for Zabuza to answer. He was beginning to regret inviting himself along on this trip, but something had tugged at him to do so.  
  
So they had loaded into Zabuza's car, the floorboards littered with wrappers and receipts and other pieces of trash, to Zabuza's slight embarrassment. The car was sparkling on the outside, but he had a habit of throwing things into the passenger floorboard with the fleeting thought of picking it up later. Haku didn't seem to notice though, and if he did, he wasn't perturbed by it.  
  
When his father had informed him that he would be hiring someone to look after him and provide security to him for the duration of their trip, he had imagined someone older, uglier, broad and hulking and without much in the way of personality. Why he had assumed that, he didn't know, because his last bodyguard certainly hadn't been so. _Don't think about him_ , Haku chided himself.  
  
 Meeting Zabuza had surprised him, though he hoped he had kept his surprise hidden. He wasn't sure why Zabuza even appealed to him, though there was no denying that the man definitely did. His face wasn't handsome, Haku decided, but it was intriguing. He had an odd mix of overtly masculine features, almost comically different from his own pretty, unassuming ones. He had never particularly anguished about his face, though he by no means considered himself a great beauty. He supposed he had a sort of quiet attractiveness, not like Kisame's classically handsome good looks and Deidara's exotic, mixed race ones that he knew many men found wildly attractive. He and Kisame had taken more after their Japanese father, and Deidara had inherited more of their American mother's genes, giving him his paler skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair.  
  
Zabuza's sudden curse snapped Haku out of his thoughts. "Fucking idiot." He swerved a bit to avoid the car that had slammed the brakes in front of them, and smoothly merged back into their lane. He glanced over to Haku, who had wide eyes. "Sorry," He muttered belatedly, looking forward resolutely, eyes glued to the road to avoid looking at Haku again.  
  
"It's fine." Haku bit his lip to keep the giggle that he felt building up in his chest in. The man's tensed stance and scowl were so different from the formal, polite chauffeur that normally drove him around. "You, um ... Don't like driving?" He guessed, his laugh escaping a bit, causing Zabuza to glare briefly in his direction.  
  
"Rich assholes in this neighborhood don't know how to drive." Zabuza explained, then winced when he realized Haku's family could undoubtedly defined as rich assholes.  
  
"I'm sorry about that." Haku giggled, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. Zabuza's hands tightened on the wheel, his teeth gritting at the physical reaction of the sound of Haku's laughter. _It's so cute ..._ Since when did he think things were cute, anyway? "I could drive next time, if you'd like."  
  
"It's fine."  
  
Haku wrapped his arms around his bulky bag and laid his chin on it, watching the area around them turn from large, well-kept homes to buildings and alleys. It was strange. All his life he could remember feeling awkward in silence, a space to be filled with words. With Zabuza, the silence was somewhat comfortable, even despite the strange fluttering in his chest and stomach at the close proximity to the man.  
  
"Have you, uh ... Ever had a bodyguard before?" He struggled to sound casual, and not like his words stemmed from a personal interest. He couldn't help it. It was like the dark-haired teen brought out a curiosity in him that had lain dormant for all of his previous life, or maybe it wasn't as complex as all that. Maybe he just liked hearing the kid's voice. _Maybe you just want to fuck him._  
  
It was a long time before Haku answered, but finally he spoke. "My family often has security for events and things like that. Well, when we go to banquets and things with the president or other important people." Haku resisted the urge to squirm a little, guiltily, at his own words. He wasn't lying exactly, just ... Not telling the whole truth. But he didn't want to talk about his previous bodyguard. He had talked about him enough to last a lifetime, as far as he was concerned. To his family, to the cops, to the lawyers, and whoever else had badgered him for information. That part of his life was over now.  "Is it the first time for you?"  
  
"No," Zabuza said simply. He didn't ask questions, or try and goad Haku with passive aggressive comments to try and wheedle information from him. Haku breathed a small sigh of relief.  He was so different from ... The other. Different from all the men Haku had known, really. With either their obvious flirtations, or their cocky swaggers, or even worse. Zabuza seemed so ... Genuine.  
  
"Have you ... Been in the business long?"  
  
"The business?" Zabuza couldn't help but mock Haku's naive words, grinning, despite his earlier resolutions not to.  
  
"Oh." Haku blushed again, but was grinning himself. He supposed he did sound a little silly phrasing it like that. "Well, um ... You know."  
  
"Do I?"  
  
"You know." Haku insisted, laughing again. "The, uh ... You work for Gatou Akasuna."  
  
"I do."  
  
"So then, you know," he replied simply, leaning back in his seat again. "You don't talk much, do you, Zabuza?" It was the first time Haku had spoken his name aloud, he was sure of it. Why did his name sound so sinful coming from the pretty, pink lips? The escort decided he liked the sound of it, despite the spark of chemistry he felt pop him in the gut, coming out in that melodic voice. It was husky and soft, but it had a pitch to it that he knew could make a person just sit and listen for hours, or at least he could. _Sit and listen to him for hours?_  
  
"I try not to." _Until now._  
  
"That's okay."  
  
They drove the rest of the way in silence, feeling a very strange, heady mix of both discomfort and comfort all at once.


End file.
